As far as the structure and gameplay are concerned, this is a great achievement which strikes a good balance between the original formula and today's tastes. At the same time, the way this sequel fits in the Nintendo Switch has its share of problems, with visual performance issues becoming too frequent. All in all, this is a remarkable work that nonetheless ends up getting harmed by its technical execution.

Aeterna Noctis is a fine metroidvania that does a great job at taking inspiration from some of the most outstanding games in the genre. Its visual world and level design stand out and for good reasons, while the game's welcoming pace allows players to focus on the exploration. At the same time, the game's pacing can also be a weak point as it makes it harder to keep focused, and a very high difficulty level may put off less experienced players while its long loading times make the experience less enjoyable.

Featuring a cast of captivating characters, decent combat system and some interesting gameplay mechanics, there's enough here to appeal to long-running fans. However Rune Factory 5 disappoints when it comes to its visual performance, even to the point of harming the gameplay experience, while its exploration can quickly become repetitive. The result is a game that could have been much more enjoyable had these elements been treated differently.

With a varied and high quality musical selection based on Rock and Metal, the game's audiovisual component is worthy of praise. As for its gameplay, it can get a bit confusing at moments when there are too many things on the screen simultaneously, and a plot that feels too bland. Still, Double Kick Heroes can be a fun experience, especially for those who are particularly keen on Rock and Metal music.

Syrup and the Ultimate Sweet is a name that doesn't hint much at what kind of game this is but it reveals that its content is very sugarcoated. Indeed this visual novel features a very sweetened world, with ten different endings and a good plot for a game with such a low selling price. It may not be the most breathtaking work ever made but Syrup and the Ultimate Sweet does a decent job, even if its main protagonist seems a bit off from the game's world.

If the game suits perfectly on the Switch as something to play on the go, making full use of the system's handheld qualities, it also feels somewhat dated when it comes to its technical aspects and something that doesn't strive to reach the same threshold as its peers. All in all, a fun and varied game, but one that could make an effort to be up to its counterparts of today.

This first-person puzzler makes the player manipulate the perspective and use optical illusions in order to solve its challenges and while it's a difficult concept to express, the game is surprisingly satisfying to watch. On the other hand, something seems to have been lost in the way and Superliminal is less fun than it wanted to be, not to mention somewhat repetitive, giving the impression that the player is doing the same puzzle over and over again. Superliminal has its qualities but it's also a difficult game to recommend.

Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX is a re-edition with some modern touches of two cult classics of the 32-bit generation. While some aspects feel outdated, this work holds quite well and it will bring a smile to the faces of fans of the original games thanks to its qualities around the in-depth development of creatures, their design, and the amount of content to explore.

Snoopy & The Great Mystery Club is a wholesome puzzle adventure, where Snoopy and the gang set to solve everyday mysteries that are affecting the main characters of the Peanuts universe. Friendly and very accessible, the game fits well with a younger audience, but it could certainly use more elements that stimulate the sense of discovery, leaving the impression of good ideas that deserved more investment. Still, as a no frills and friendly experience, it does a good job, though it could let its players return to the same file after wrapping up the last mystery.

Minoria is a metroidvania-type of game that encourages the player to explore and which benefits from having a good combat system. At the same time, it feels it could have gone much further in its ambition, and its rather short length and repetitive settings, a certain lack of orientation when it comes to the exploration, and the lack of attention dedicated to the other characters make this a game that doesn't clearly standout amid its peers, even if it gets part of the job right.

Root Film is a visual novel that shares some points with other genres. Its plot ends up feeling too cumbersome and takes some time to pick up momentum during the first half of the game, along with an exploration that doesn't transmit the player a clear sense of purpose, only to then become much more compelling later on. This can be a problem for those not persistent enough, but players who won't put it down will enjoy a much more engaging effort closer to the end of the experience.

Slaughtering hordes of enemies is a fun experience, and the performance is worthy of praise as the game runs smoothly with no major hiccups. The enormous cast with their myriad abilities and mutual benefits is one of the main selling points, but Warriors: Abyss becomes repetitive too quickly, and it doesn’t take long until it can start feeling like a chore. This is rather a game to be taken lightly, not one to invest long hours in lest the feeling of repetitiveness overwhelms the player.

Summer in Mara may not stand as high as its life sim peers but it's not without its charms, thanks to a lovely visual environment, quality dialogues and an enjoyable plot. Where Summer in Mara does less well, however, is when it comes to the way it works - several technical flaws that end up making the experience less involving and some of the tasks are mostly redundant, for example.

Becastled is a simple take on three popular genres, and it does several things right. It’s accessible to newcomers, it does not overcomplicate things, and even when we lose it lets us get back on our feet quickly. It’s less compelling than expected, however, and it can quickly become repetitive, which is where its simple audiovisual component can become a liability.

ISLANDERS: Console Edition is a simple city-builder that focuses on providing a relaxing experience, rather than on the intricacies of urban planning and juggling of interests. This is both its most positive and negative trait at the same time - the experience at hand is relaxing and welcoming, but the lack of any kind of challenge and strategy makes this a limited effort. Those only looking for the calm side of laying down buildings and getting points without any further challenge will find a great companion and for a good price too, but anyone looking for something deeper will quickly grow tired.

This his City Hunter remaster brings the 1990 classic to the world. If only more region-exclusive games could follow suit. Fans of the manga and anime series will find a simple but fitting 2D side-scrolling action game, with little more than moving around, shooting and jumping, very good soundtrack and some welcome - if short - bonus content. New quality of life options also make it feel more at home, but the gameplay could use more tweaks when it comes to level navigation. The retail price, however, is too high for what this City Hunter brings, and it would be more suitable to a full remake and/or a lot more bonus content.

This game features complex but fun gameplay mechanics and lots of content to explore, which will keep players satisfied for a long time. art of rally doesn't do so good when it comes to its graphical performance, with problems in the way the action is exhibited on the screen, not to mention a lower resolution. Players able to see beyond these flaws will fully enjoy a very demanding but overall satisfying experience.

Party Hard 2 is not exactly your typical party game...or a party game at all, for that matter. On the contrary, it's an anti-party game, in the sense that players will have to murder party goers and revelers in order to get a quiet night. Concept aside, Party Hard 2 works quite well in its mechanics and it delivers a good dose of fun, for those who can handle the thought that the game's 'hero' is a killer of party goers, that is.

Connection Haunted has an original concept joined to an interesting game world and several alternative endings. At the same time, it offers little in terms of longevity as its main idea is done with too quickly. Then again, this game does not intend to be a monumental work but rather a simple, if immersive, horror experience. In the end, there's plenty to explore here for a potential sequel.

Its fun mechanics and several pathways, the wealth of content to find and a soundtrack that fits like a glove on this cliché-ridden comedic experience mean that those players who know what to expect will find a fun and delightful game. Players outside its target audience, though, will struggle with enjoying the experience and are unlikely to become fans if they are not receptive to its mixture of on-rails action, visual novel interactions, and absurdist humour.

Elden: Path of the Forgotten will definitely evoke memories and impressions of some very known action and adventure games, namely those with a particularly difficult combat. When it comes to the fights, Elden demands a certain tactical mindset but it also runs the risk of becoming too repetitive. With a charming audiovisual presentation but a plot that suffers from minimal narration efforts, this is a game that might please fans of action and adventure games but which will have some work to do if it is to convince other players.

This is no frantic action game, rather its experience is about diving and tracking different maritime species, with a background plot that helps the players know more about the main character. The gameplay is relaxing and contemplative, and it has a relevant educational pillar, though there could have been a lot more done here to further advance the exploration aspect of the game, not to mention that the graphics feel rather sub-par, which is disappointing in a game that depends so much on its visual dimension.

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is very ambitious and delivers an enormous amount of content, a long gameplay campaign, engaging turn-based combat, and an atmosphere that fits perfectly with the Warhammer series. It's less successful, however, at welcoming new players who are not familiar with the Warhammer lore. The experience can get cumbersome, with its heavy menus, long loading times and framerate drops, and despite recent updates, some flaws remain unadressed. Rogue Trader is a strategy RPG that does several things right, but execution problems make the Nintendo Switch 2 version fall below its potential.

While the gameplay can feel entirely different depending on the control scheme used, this doesn't affect Ellipsis' value as a good and fun game for shorter sessions. Those looking for a more in depth work, however, will find that Ellipsis is too short and runs out of options quickly enough.

The game does a great job at grabbing the player's attention and provides a fitting audiovisual environment, but its gameplay can often feel repetitive with a course of action that gets dull sometimes. For a game that makes use of so many dialogues, Oxenfree II is not always able to deliver the most interesting exchanges, and its plot development turns out to be more linear than it seems. Fans of plot-heavy games with mystery settings still have plenty to enjoy here, though.

Mega Dimension is a DLC that brings some welcome new features to the game, such as a more demanding difficulty and new Mega Evolutions, as well as a plot that directly follows that of Pokémon Legends Z-A. Mega Dimension does not do so well on other fields, however, and very often the game feels repetitive when it comes to its overdone actions and settings, especially when it comes to the small dimension of its map. Mega Dimension is competent, but it adds more in quantity than in quality, and the price is too high for what it delivers.

Terror Squid deserves to be praised for its intuitive, easy to grasp gameplay and for its score attack challenge, a characteristic that is not far from arcade experiences of previous years. Its difficulty level, though, gets to very high levels that may put off those less versed in these challenges, and its pricing will look too high to most players, especially when the content is so short and the game's longevity reaches its end rather quickly.

This is a game that's mostly aimed at a public looking for a quick experience and while it does a pretty good job at that, it also runs of ideas too quickly and would really benefit from having an online component, but since that's not available players will have to settle with hat's on offer here, which is not bad at all.